My Three Ring Life

I am a professional writer

Posted by Susan , Tuesday, June 4, 2013 3:36 PM

In the book, Becoming An Academic Writer, Goodson (2013) sets forth several exercises to help professional writers become effective and more fruitful in their efforts.  As I look to the summer of writing comps I'm utilizing the book to support my efforts.

So, here goes for Exercise 1.  I've placed on my calendar (at the oh, so coveted time of 6:30 am) a half hour of writing time.  This is scheduled, and like meetings with folks at work or long lost friends, these appointments will be sacred.  No canceling, no nudging, no faking here.  They start tomorrow.  This place may well be the repository of my musings while I muster up the muscle to delve into the comps.

The second part of the first exercise is to spend 5 minutes responding to the following:

What does it take to get me to write (to begin and/or to continue)?

• Deadline
• Passion
• Preparedness
• Whimsy
• Deadline
• Other people depending on my part to do their part
• Knowledge
• Skill
• Deadline

I've never really had a long writing project like what I'm about to encounter.  In the past most of my writing has been short term and of the moment.  Synthesizing two years worth of course work is daunting at best; terrifying at worst.  Loosening of the bowels at those rare "dark night of the soul" moments.  Okay, they aren't so rare after all.

• Deadline

I'm really bad at deadlines and procrastination; I see it, almost, like a badge of honor and courage that I'm able to produce so called quality work at the last moment.  I can tell myself all sorts of things about how I work best under pressure, that I'm writing even when I'm not writing, but it is really just bullshit.  I don't know any different.  This is how I've always written (with the few exceptions in my program where I've had accountability partners).  This deadline thing is the monkey on my back.